Ryan Connolly (presenter)

Ryan Connolly
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Full Sail University
Occupation(s)	Writer, director, and presenter
Known for	Film Riot
Parents	Judith Connolly Sr. Timothy Connoly Sr.
Relatives	Ryan Connolly (brother) Tim Connolly (brother) Emily Connolly (sister) Ondrea Connolly
Website	Official website

Ryan Connolly is a writer, director, and presenter best known for his internet television show Film Riot.

Early Life

Connolly is one of 9 siblings, three of whom are actively involved in Film Riot, and Connolly's other film work. He attended Full Sail University's film program, where he met many of his future collaborators. After graduating from his course, Connolly was employed to produce advertisements and product videos for companies including Dell and Alienware. He also founded Triune films, a production company under which he became involved with multiple film projects. Through his work with other production companies, he became friends with Eric Kessler, who lends equipment to Connolly for use and review, and for whom Connolly presents Pimp your productions.

Film Riot

Connolly was first noticed by Revision 3 when he began making Making the Film, a YouTube show documenting the process of producing a movie. They approached him, and pitched the idea of a higher-budget version of the same premise. Connolly signed up to their team, and began producing Film Riot. The first episode was released on May 27 2009, and made available on both the Revision 3 website and the Film Riot YouTube channel.

Structure

The content of the show is geared towards low budget filmmakers, with sections explaining how popular effects can be achieved on a low budget. Episodes usually begin with a short sketch, sometimes making up part of an ongoing serial across multiple weeks. Connolly then describes how the sketch was produced, focussing on one or two specific elements of the production. This may be part of preproduction, filming, or post production. Footage filming behind the scenes of the sketch is shown, along with screen captures of Connolly compositing, editing, or processing the footage to produce the desired outcome. Connolly narrates throughout this, describing his method, and alternative methods for viewers with different equipment or software. The subject of the episode is usually the result of a viewer request, sent via email, Twitter, or Facebook. As such, the content of some episodes changes between weeks, and little information is given about upcoming features.

In some episodes, Connolly reviews equipment or software. His choice of items to review generally reflects the audience of Film Riot, being aimed at low budget filmmakers. Equipment Connolly purchases for use in Film Riot is also subject of many of his reviews, as is hardware he is loaned or rented for other projects. Some of this equipment is beyond the price range of his viewers; he notably reviewed the RED Epic camera used to film Losses. Early tutorials on effects and editing featured Connolly's editing suite of choice at the time, Final Cut Pro. After releasing an unfavourable review of Final Cut Pro X, the newest version of the editor, Connolly switched to using the Adobe Creative Suite. He regularly includes reviews of plugins for this software in episodes, as and when they are used in tutorials.

Episodes also include a variety of cutaways, usually used for comedic value. These may include shots from existing shorts, or specially filmed segments that build narrative across multiple episodes. On occasion, these extra cutaways use the technique that is the subject of the episode. Conversely, the techniques used in these segments may become the subject of the next episode, should a viewer request it. In earlier episodes, experts from Full Sail University were interviewed on filmmaking techniques, instead of relying solely on Connolly's own experience. Over the end credits, outtakes from the episode are played, or extensions of the main sketch.

Initially, one episode was produced per week, with a running time of around 10 minutes. Episodes have increased in length since the launch, and now average around 15 minutes. Early episodes were sponsored by two companies, with common sponsors being Netflix, Squarespace, and Go Daddy. These sponsors were announced at the beginning of each episode, and adverts, typically produced by the Film Riot team, were played throughout the show; one sponsor advert would bisect the show, and another end it. Most adverts either consist of a specially produced sketch outlining the sponsor's message in an unconventional way, or Connolly reading a scripted marketing message. Later episodes no longer include two sponsors, instead focussing on only one, typically Domain.com. A single advert for this sponsor is played during the middle of the show.

Cast and crew

• Ryan Connolly (2009 - present). Connolly presents Film Riot, as well as serving as director for the sketches, and sometimes camera operator. He also appears in some of the inserts, and writes their scripts. Much of the editing and visual effects for the show is also Connolly's work. Officially, Connolly is also the producer of the show.
• Josh Connolly (2009 - present). Josh is Connolly's younger brother, and serves as camera operator for much of the studio work in Film Riot. He also stars in many of the sketches and has, in the event of Connolly's absence, presented the show. Josh also serves as assistant producer and editor of the show.
• Bruno Vieira (2009 - 2013). Vieira appeared in many of the sketches, as well as serving as a camera operator for the show, and co-editor of Film Riot Mondays. Vieira left the show in 2013 to move back to Florida, where his partner had remained. Prior to appearing in the show, Bruno worked on the production behind the scenes.
• Tim Allen (2009 - 2011, 2012). Tim was an actor in many of the Film Riot sketches. Like Connolly, he attended Full Sail University, where he studied filmmaking. Allen had left the production of Film Riot by the time production moved to Texas, so he remained in Florida. He later appeared in a further sketch filmed whilst he was visiting Connolly in Texas.
• Brett Painter (2009 - 2011). Painter appeared in many early episodes of Film Riot, acting in the sketches. He left the production around the same time as Allen, and has not returned since.
• Arris Quinones (2012 - Present). Quinones worked behind the scenes for Triune films for five years before becoming involved with Film Riot. He appears in many of the sketches, and presents Variant, a Revision 3 web series about comic books, where Connolly makes appearances. He joined the cast of Film Riot in 2012, shortly before Bruno left the show.
• Michael Stark (2009 - 2012). Stark initially provided the opening sequence, and an assortment of other graphics used in the series. He has also appeared in a number of episodes, and in 20?? was again employed to redesign the title sequences.
• Emily Connolly (2009 - 2012). Emily is Connolly's younger sister, and has appeared in multiple episodes of Film Riot. She was usually portrayed as the antagonist in sketches and, despite being younger than the rest of the cast, was the cause of much of the violence in early episodes. She last appeared in 2012, when a sketch involving her provided the transition to the new Film Riot location.

Other internet celebrities and actors have also appeared in Film Riot, including fellow Revision 3 host Brian Brushwood, and Tell actor Todd Bruno. The theme music for the show is part of the track "Let Me Go" by Hello Control, and is played over both the opening and closing credit sequences. In the original opening sequence, Connolly provided a voiceover that played over this section, introducing the premise of the show, but this was dropped when the titles were updated. A shortened version of the track is also used as the theme for Film Riot Mondays.

Film Riot Mondays

In 2011, Connolly began uploading episodes of Film State to the Film Riot YouTube channel. Later Film State became a separate entity, and Film Riot Mondays was introduced. Episodes are shorter, less resource-heavy, and take less time to produce than their standard Film Riot counterparts. The first episode was made available on July 5, 2011. The majority of these episodes consists of fixed camera footage filmed in a physical studio, rather than the chroma-keyed studio used for Film Riot. This speeds up production, and significantly reduces post production effects work.

A prominent feature of Film Riot Mondays episodes is "Ryan's Mail Sack", where Connolly answers a range of short questions about the content of Film Riot, films, or general subjects. These questions are submitted by viewers, and Connolly selects ones that fit a similar theme.

Short films

Connolly runs Triune Films, an independent production company. Through them, he has released a three short films. As well as releasing his own work, Connolly created the titles for the short film Appalachia, and worked as a camera operator on Callous.

Armistice

In 2006, Connolly co-wrote, and served as director of photography for, Armistice, a short action film. It was produced by Greystreet Films, in association Triune Films. Armistice was directed by Connolly's co-writer, J. Bradley Bruening.

Plot

Scott and two other thieves are recruited by a criminal gang to assist them in a heist. After some of the stolen money goes missing, and with the threat of their employer killing them all, the group turn on each other. When threatened, Scott kills Nate, and discovers Vanessa to be the perpetrator. After killing her, he is captured by his employer, Anthony, and tortured. He continues to profess his innocence, and kills his captors in self defence. He confronts Anthony, but decides against killing him, fleeing instead.

Cast

• Tim Connolly as Scott Howland.
• Juan Santos as Anthony Marrett.
• Waine Weeks as Nate Thompson.
• Jessica Thieme as Vanessa Berringer.
• Kendale Millinder as Thug 1.
• Dough Fashaw as Thug 2.

Losses

Losses (stylized as LOSSES) was Connolly's first short film project undertaken on his own. He wrote, directed, shot, and edited the short action film himself. It was produced in a manner similar to that of a Film Riot sketch, and starred Film Riot regulars, along with other actors. The short was also filmed on a Red Epic, which Connolly was loaned by Kessler, and made available on YouTube in 2K. As recognition of this, Kessler was credited as a producer, alongside Connolly.

Plot

Hero is taken by thugs to meet The Boss, who confronts him, questioning his ability to perform the tasks set to him. As a test of his abilities, he is locked in a room with a thug, and given five minutes to make it to The Boss's office. He escapes his handcuffs, stabs his guardian, and leaves the room. In the corridor, he is attacked by another thug, whose gun he steals. He shoots his attacker, along with three other thugs. On reaching a second corridor, a firefight breaks out between him and a group of thugs. When he runs out of ammunition, he captures an assailant, uses him as a human shield, and steals his pistol. After killing or incapacitating the attackers, he reaches a staircase. There, he is confronted by another thug, and they discard their weapons in favor of close combat. In the ensuing fight, he impales his attacker with a snooker cue, and rearms himself. On arriving at The Boss's office, he is argues over the terms of his employment, kills The Boss, and leaves the building.

Cast

None of the characters in Losses have names, with most referred to as numeric iterations of "Thug".

• Josh Connolly as Hero. Throughout the course of the short, Hero has only one line.
• Todd Bruno as The Boss. The Boss has the most lines throughout the script. Bruno later went on to play Taylor, the main character in Connolly's Tell.
• Thugs: Bruno Vieira, Nic Daire, Andres Zamorano, Josh Schoellkopf, Arris Quinones, Tim Connolly, Jamice Ivie, Tim Allen, Tyler Hoff, Matt Peevy.

Tell

Main article: Tell (film)

Tell is a 2012 psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Connolly. It is loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story "The Tell-Tale Heart". The production of the film was the subject of many episodes of Film Riot, and many of the Film Riot crew also worked on Tell. Compared to Connolly's earlier work, Tell took a longer period of time to write and produce. It is significantly longer than his earlier shorts, and required 8 days to film.

External Links

• Ryan Connolly at IMDb
• Ryan Connolly at Revision3's host directory.
• Ryan Connolly on Twitter
• Ryan Connolly on Facebook
• Film Riot's channel on YouTube